Employee Tries to Pull a Fast One

cebudragonlady

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 01-09-04 AT 04:18PM (CST)[/font][br][br]1. Employee installed our product at a customer's site out of state last November
2. Employee returned to factory after job
3. Customer complained about quality of install
4. Big uproar .Owner of factory threatened to fire the sick employee unless employee made doctor appointment for a checkup. Employee had not complained of illness prior to us sending him out on this install. The Supervisor told me that this employee had been ill prior to the install, but the employee did not tell anyone. [ If you FORUMites will recall my prior post about a year ago about an employee who worked in pain without telling anyone, even though he had a hernia , until the pain was too much---This is the very same guy !!!!] >GROAN<
5. Employee went to HMO next day
6. HMO called me today January 9th asking why Workeer's Comp paperwork had not filled out.
7. I told HMO representative that as far as the Company was concerned this was NOT work related.
8. I called employee to my office just an hour ago - and employee told me he had told the HMO that it was work-related ,at the time of his visit last November for the REASON that he , the employee, did not want to pay the co-payments! ( which are $ 15 per visit )or for the medicine ! Finally, the employee told me that if the Company doesn't pay for his visits or medicine, that he won't go back for doctor care or medicine.

Did I handle this right?

Chari

marc

1. Our Workman's comp medical is completely separate from our HMO. Thus we have no co-payments.
2. We are required to fill out the incident reports whether or not the EE follows up with any medical visits.
3. I am still not certain about the origination of the injury. If he got it during the out of state installation, then it is work related, or at least work aggravated it if it was pre-existing.
4. If he did get it earlier than the out-of-state install, it may still have been work related.
5. Since I don't get the relationship between your WC and your HMO, I cannot opine as to whether or not you did it right. In our company, you would have not done it right.

Don D

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 01-10-04 AT 07:44AM (CST)[/font][br][br]I've never considered this angle of demanding that somebody go to a doctor or be fired. I think my approach to it would be to tell the employee this: "In the company's opinion, your performance seems to be related to or exacerbated by illness. We're not sure about that. We're not medical practitioners. But, we have decided that in your best interest and that of the company, we're going to remove you from duty (suspend you) until you bring me a fitness for duty report from your physician." The issues of who is going to pay for this, copays, whether its comp or how the HMO might respond, all becomes irrelevant to me at that point. The fact is that the employee is forced to seek medical attention or remain off work, and whatever paperwork follows, just follows.

E Wart

Chari, the first thing you need to do, at the first HINT of worker's comp, is get it reported to your carrier. Then let them investigate the alledged injury. They will determine what/if any medical treatment is needed and arrange the doctor's appointments. You don't need to get involved.
Then, if the employee is injuried and doesn't go to the doctor, the w/c carrier can handle appropriately.
If it isn't determined it is w/c, then you will have to deal with it as a possible FML problem.
You need to "get out of it" besides reporting to w/c for the time being. Just get all the info from the employee and document the first time you were made aware of anything w/c related. He should be sent to one of the w/c doctors, not his primary care.
E Wart